# Open Tin Storage Optimal RH%?



## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

if you could choose the RH for all your open tins to stay in so they smoked well whenever you chose to have a pipe, what would it be?


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## caskwith (Apr 10, 2006)

IHT said:


> if you could choose the RH for all your open tins to stay in so they smoked well whenever you chose to have a pipe, what would it be?


anything lower than the damned 60% im stuck with here in the UK!!

IHT - sorry, this forum software forces us to make the post and THEN post the poll.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

i brought this up on another board and GL Pease quickly commented, which i'll quote in a moment...

this is what i was asking:
i've searched and searched and haven't found on here what people consider to be the proper storage RH for OPEN tins (the stuff you're currently smoking).

like cigars in a humidor, there are "humidity beads" that will hold the RH at a specific level (namely 65% for cubans, 70% for non-cubans - some even have 60% for a "dry box"). *if you were to have something similar to that for your open tins of pipe tobacco, what RH % would you want to store them at?*

i personally feel that 65% is too humid for pipe tobacco. yes, i could just rub out a flake, leave it on a paper towel or in a small cup for an hour and it could be dry enough by then, but sometimes i just can't pre-plan that far ahead (hey, i'm married and have a 6 yr old son).

would storing open pipe tobacco tins around 40% RH be about the ideal RH, or am i way off base here?

i'm asking because i travel a lot, for more than a few weeks at a time, and i'd like to be able to put my open tins i don't take with me in a sealed container (like a large tupperware bowl/bin, or even an old unused cigar humidor) and when i come back the tobacco is still in perfect smoking shape and not all dried out.

thanks for any input.
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this is what GLP replied with, although i didn't quite understand all of it.



GLPease said:


> Some time back, I did a mini-study of RH vs. moisture content in typical tobacco blends. I consider ca. 12% moisture to be pretty close to ideal for smoking, though with some blends, I like them drier, even as low as 10% In general, a 60% RH will keep most tobaccos at about 12% moisture, while the RH has to go down to ca. 55% to get the moisture content of the tobacco down to the 10% range. Of course, it takes time for the leaf to equilibrate, so changes in the RH won't be immediately apparent in the leaf.
> 
> Leaf is quite dry at 10%, and quite moist at 14%. There are some commercial blends that are packaged significantly higher. Small changes can have big effects. It's always a trade-off when deciding the proper packaging moisture. If it's too dry, aging will be retarded, and the product will break up more in the tin. Too wet, and it's all but unsmokeable without drying. (High moisture content makes the tobacco difficult to light, dilutes the flavour, and increases the tendency for a tobacco to "bite.")
> 
> ...


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## Hydrated (Aug 9, 2006)

What Greg (the other Greg... the Pease one) is saying is that the relative humidity has a direct relationship to the moisture content of our tobacco. No surprise there... we all knew that. What is interesting about his answer is that he gives us some guidelines as to what RH will give us a smokeable moisture content.

According to him:
60% RH = good moisture
55% RH = smoking on the dry side
<55% RH = probably too dry

He also gives us the reason that most tins are too wet to smoke upon opening. It's because the tobacco ages best at slightly higher moisture levels. So we can all stop grousing about vendors selling us too much water in our 'baccy!  

Great info in that post Greg (our Greg... not the Pease one)!

Thanks,
Bobby


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

if he's right, then i guess my idea of smoking tobacco around 40% RH is way off. 
since i've sold my wireless hygrometer/thermometer to Pistol, i have no way of checking to see if this is true or not, but it's something i'll try and test in a month or so (when i get back from PA).

here's his reply to my reply to his reply (you follow?).



GLPease said:


> IHT said:
> 
> 
> > hey greg (nice name), how many credit hours do i get after reading one of your posts? :lol:
> ...


but his 60% RH goes against what caskwith is bitching about where he lives??
hmmm... no concensus. will there ever be?


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## kheffelf (Jul 31, 2006)

Thanks for bringing this up Greg and thanks for showing us another Greg's ideas on this. The way his tins are he has to believe in a wetter tobacco, that Fillmore is really wet.


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## croatan (Mar 23, 2005)

I guess I never really thought of it in those terms before. I'll have to go measure some RHs tonight.


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## Don Fernando (Jan 1, 2000)

Man ..... I just toss the contents of a new tin into a mason jar & screw the lid on. Then I forget about it untill I want to smoke that particular blend. If the tin looks *really* wet, I may just keep the lid on it, but not jar it for 2 weeks to a month.

(shrug)

I'll happily fight over the humidity in my humi, but lifes too short to fight it in each jar of pipe 'baccy....especially when either too dry or too wet is fairly easy to solve in not too long of time.

Sorry ... I've no answer .... just hot air here, as I jar it & forget it untill I smoke it.


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## SilvrBck (Sep 8, 2003)

I don't understand the whole % moisture thing. I mean, the only way to measure that directly is by drying out a sample of tobacco and getting pre and post weights. That's not feasible for the average smoker. What is much better is to correlate a RH to a % moisture. We never talk about cigars in terms of % moisture so why do it with pipe tobacco? A given RH will give a certain % moisture and a certain % moisture is good for smoking. Therefore, a given RH will give optimal smoking tobacco. Optimal storage for aging may very well be different than for smoking. % moisture in our tobacco must be inferred by RH.


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## Hydrated (Aug 9, 2006)

monsoon said:


> .... just hot air here, as I jar it & forget it untill I smoke it.


Be careful... hot air will support a higher Relative Humidity!


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## Hydrated (Aug 9, 2006)

SilvrBck said:


> I don't understand the whole % moisture thing. I mean, the only way to measure that directly is by drying out a sample of tobacco and getting pre and post weights. That's not feasible for the average smoker. What is much better is to correlate a RH to a % moisture. We never talk about cigars in terms of % moisture so why do it with pipe tobacco? A given RH will give a certain % moisture and a certain % moisture is good for smoking. Therefore, a given RH will give optimal smoking tobacco. Optimal storage for aging may very well be different than for smoking. % moisture in our tobacco must be inferred by RH.


Yessir... you are correct. We can only try to find the RH that keeps our tobacco at a good smokeable moisture content.

According to G.L. Pease: 60% RH = good moisture for smoking


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

Hydrated said:


> According to G.L. Pease: 60% RH = good moisture for smoking


if i had a hygrometer i'd do a test, and just may try that when i get back. gotta get one of those snap-tight lid tupperware thingy's though.


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## hollywood (Feb 15, 2005)

i know that anything below 40% RH is too low. my basement has a nearly constant RH of 37%. open tins that are not stored in a sealed enviornment such a tupperdor tend to dry out within a matter of a couple of weeks. those that are stored in a tupperdor without additional humidification tend to go several months, but will eventually get too dry. i am a big advecate of the air tight sealed jars; as they are holding the original humidity levels of the tobaccos as it was when the tins are opened; for several months and beyond.

i will try to do a controled study with a tupperdor over the next couple of weeks using a tupperdor and a small humidifier disk. i will try to maintain 55% RH for the first study level. we shall see what happens.




btw - great thread Greg!


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

BUMP!!

just curious if the newer flock of ppl had more insight on this.


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## wharfrathoss (Dec 27, 2006)

i just jar mine however it comes. the exception would be if it comes too dry & i'm planning on aging it.

i'm not one to plan ahead either, so b4 smoking i just take out a bowl's worth & dry it in a open tin set on a lamp. 5 to 10 min max & it's ready.


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## yellowgoat (Apr 27, 2008)

I have a small humidifier at where I keep my tobacco, I try to get the area at 60% max and %50 the lowest. So anywhere in the middle 55% is perfect. My tobacco always smokes perfect for me at that percent.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

I've stated several times that I prefer my tobacco a little on the moist side in comparison with many guys here on the forum (I voted RH 45-50% but flakes are better up around 55% and some other tobaccos like Esoterica's Tilbury below 40%) but even though GLP's philosophy sounds great to me maybe it doesn't suit everyone's sense of taste or smoking style. Cake, smoking speed, lighting technique, packing, cut, smoulder vs burn, airway diameter, keenness of taste and probably other things all effect that. So while I personally agree with Pease for the most part I don't believe that any one person is in the position to speak for everyone. As long as you enjoy what your doing and have confidence in how you are doing it then there shouldn't be a problem.


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

I usually only have 2-3 tins open at a time. If I'm concerned about their moisture content, I simply transfer the tobacco to air-tight tobacco jars.

90% of the tobacco I smoke is from stored bulk, however. I keep the pounds in Mason jars and transfer 4 oz at a time to the air-tight tobacco jars. I have rarely had a problem with tobacco that is too dry or too moist unless that's how it came from the manufacturer.


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## PipesandGOP (Feb 7, 2008)

Sorta glad you bumped this as I'd been thinking about it quite a bit lately after noticing quite a bit of my bulk still in ziplock bags had begun to dry out pretty badly. By bad, I mean ribbons turning to a crunchy mess. My house stays around 50%Rh (+/-5%) most of the time. This did not do well for tobacco stored in the ziplocks. Open tobacco stored in a makeshift humidor I set up and open and rotate from time to time to prevent wet spots and just to check things out has seemed to maintain itself very well while at 65-70%... yea, the same cigars are supposed to hang around. The problem comes around because at 50%Rh, if I don't smoke the stuff within a month of popping the lid, it's dry to the bone so it just adds stress for me.

Something that's always confused me but I've always been afraid to ask is why do people talk about aging pipe tobacco and cigars in such a different manner. Tobacco's tobacco is it not? True, pipe tobacco stored at 70% may not be ready to smoke right out of the box, but for aging and preservation it seems to be optimal. I can't remember where exactly I found the article but it was on tobacco production from a university's AG department, their studies proved that tobacco, in order to properly age, needs to remain at 70%Rh.. you got it- same as what the cigar guys use (although most of them now say 65%). Granted, a scientific article might not be as eloquently written as some may be able to put it, but it's evidence for me and in trying it, it has worked very well so far in preserving my stash.

Bottom line though- if i know it's something I'm going to smoke within a month or so, from the time I open the tin until it's done, 55% works well because by time time I'm nearing the bottom things are starting to get a little dry for my taste.

EDIT: Did manage to find this article, jump down to the 'curing' section http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA260


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## mugwump (Jun 7, 2007)

My house stays at right about 45% Rh most of the year and that is certainly too dry for tobacco storage. I keep open tobaccos that are in their original tin or pouch and that I'm actively smoking in a small cooler which bumps the Rh up to about 55% without any added humidification devices. I find that that's usually too wet to smoke easily so I have to set some out on paper for a bit before smoking. I guess somewhere around 50% Rh is the sweet spot for me but it takes some work to get there.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

any newer members have any takes on this?

asking cuz i just found an opened tin of 1792 from about 6 months ago and it's dry as a bone, couldn't "rub it out", broke into shards that i loaded into the bowl.
smokes fine.


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## MarkC (Jul 4, 2009)

Pretty much every thin I smoke (at least of tobaccos I like!) gives rise to this thought when I smoke the last bowl: wow; I should have waited a week or two after opening to smoke this like I always intend to do. The drier the better to a point, but I haven't found that point yet.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

i've also noticed, like wine, you need to let the tobacco breathe a bit.
especially C&D tobaccos. some have just been flat out flavorless until 2 months after they've been opened. could that also be just from the moisture content being too high?
maybe, i'm just not a scientist, so i can't say for sure.


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## MarkC (Jul 4, 2009)

Oh yeah; I've taken to dumping the tin out on a newspaper, flipping it around a bit then returning it to the tin. I think it's more than just moisture. Call it tin funk.


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

I keep my apartment between 4045% RH, and have been just keeping my tobacco in opened tins in a drawer. i could pop a little thing of beads in there and im sure the drawer would be about 50-55 easily.. think its worth it?

edit: woops pseudo-necro


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